In Another Village, On My Showing A Testament To A Woman, She Said
That She Had A Child At School For Whom She Would Like To Purchase
One, But That She Must First Know Whether The Book Was Calculated
To Be Of Service To Him.
She then went away, and presently
returned with the schoolmaster, followed by all the children under
his care; she then, showing the schoolmaster a book, inquired if it
would answer for her son.
The schoolmaster called her a simpleton
for asking such a question, and said that he knew the book well,
and there was not its equal in the world (no hay otro en el mundo).
He instantly purchased five copies for his pupils, regretting that
he had no more money, "for if I had," said he, "I would buy the
whole cargo." Upon hearing this, the woman purchased four copies,
namely, one for her living son, another for her deceased husband, a
third for herself, and a fourth for her brother, whom she said she
was expecting home that night from Madrid.
In this manner we proceeded; not, however, with uniform success.
In some villages the people were so poor and needy, that they had
literally no money; even in these, however, we managed to dispose
of a few copies in exchange for barley or refreshments. On
entering one very small hamlet, Victoriano was stopped by the
curate, who, on learning what he carried, told him that unless he
instantly departed, he would cause him to be imprisoned, and would
write to Madrid in order to give information of what was going on.
The excursion lasted about eight days. Immediately after my
return, I dispatched Victoriano to Caramanchal, a village at a
short distance from Madrid, the only one towards the west which had
not been visited last year. He staid there about an hour, and
disposed of twelve copies, and then returned, as he was exceedingly
timid, and was afraid of being met by the thieves who swarm on that
road in the evening.
Shortly after these events, a circumstance occurred which will
perhaps cause the English reader to smile, whilst, at the same
time, it will not fail to prove interesting, as affording an
example of the feeling prevalent in some of the lone villages of
Spain with respect to innovation and all that savours thereof, and
the strange acts which are sometimes committed by the real
authorities and the priests, without the slightest fear of being
called to account; for as they live quite apart {20} from the rest
of the world, they know no people greater than themselves, and
scarcely dream of a higher power than their own.
I was about to make an excursion to Guadalajara, and the villages
of Alcarria, about seven leagues distant from Madrid; indeed I
merely awaited the return of Victoriano to sally forth; I having
dispatched him in that direction with a few Testaments, as a kind
of explorer, in order that, from his report as to the disposition
manifested by the people for purchasing, I might form a tolerably
accurate opinion as to the number of copies which it might be
necessary to carry with me.
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